Evidence-based art in the hospital

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based art is the investigation of art effects and art investigated for effects. In this study the evidence regarding patient preferences for art styles and effects of art in nonpsychiatric hospitals and outpatient departments was reviewed. METHODS: Results from original articles were retrieved by a scoping PubMed search and by browsing the internet using the terms “evidence based art”, “evidence based design”, “art and hospital” and “design and hospital”, “art effect”, “design effect”, “landscape preference” and “abstract art figurative art”. The quality of art was not operationalized as a criterion. RESULTS: Of the articles 7 original sources showed patient preference for natural scenes and figurative art, 2 studies showed no preference, 16 studies showed positive art effects on well-being and behavior and 5 studies showed a positive effect of nature pictures on measurable findings. CONCLUSION: Controversial results together with theoretical aspects suggest natural scenes in patient rooms and diverse art in public areas

Data from: Animal tracking meets migration genomics: transcriptomic analysis of a partially migratory bird species

Seasonal migration is a widespread phenomenon, which is found in many different lineages of animals. This spectacular behaviour allows animals to avoid seasonally adverse environmental conditions to exploit more favourable habitats. Migration has been intensively studied in birds, which display astonishing variation in migration strategies, thus providing a powerful system for studying the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape migratory behaviour. Despite intensive research, the genetic basis of migration remains largely unknown. Here we used state-of-the-art radio-tracking technology to characterize the migratory behaviour of a partially migratory population of European blackbirds (Turdus merula) in southern Germany. We compared gene expression of resident and migrant individuals using high-throughput transcriptomics in blood samples. Analyses of sequence variation revealed a non-significant genetic structure between blackbirds differing by their migratory phenotype. We detected only four differentially expressed genes between migrants and residents, which might be associated with hyperphagia, moulting, and enhanced DNA replication and transcription. The most pronounced changes in gene expression occurred between migratory birds depending on when, in relation to their date of departure, blood was collected. Overall, the differentially expressed genes detected in this analysis may play crucial roles in determining the decision to migrate, or in controlling the physiological processes required for the onset of migration. These results provide new insights into, and testable hypotheses for, the molecular mechanisms controlling the migratory phenotype and its underlying physiological mechanisms in blackbirds and other migratory bird species

Blackbird_genotypes

Filtered individuals’ genotypes stored in a VCF file generated by the Bayesian genetic variant detector FreeBayes v1.0.2 (Garrison & Marth), run with default parameters

Postoperative cognitive deficit after cardiopulmonary bypass with preserved cerebral oxygenation: a prospective observational pilot study

Abstract Background Neurologic deficits after cardiac surgery are common complications. Aim of this prospective observational pilot study was to investigate the incidence of postoperative cognitive deficit (POCD) after cardiac surgery, provided that relevant decrease of cerebral oxygen saturation (cSO2) is avoided during cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods cSO2 was measured by near infrared spectroscopy in 35 patients during cardiopulmonary bypass. cSO2 was kept above 80% of baseline and above 55% during anesthesia including cardiopulmonary bypass. POCD was tested by trail making test, digit symbol substitution test, Ray's auditorial verbal learning test, digit span test and verbal fluency test the day before and 5 days after surgery. POCD was defined as a decline in test performance that exceeded - 20% from baseline in two tests or more. Correlation of POCD with lowest cSO2 and cSO2 - threshold were determined explorative. Results POCD was observed in 43% of patients. Lowest cSO2 during cardiopulmonary bypass was significantly correlated with POCD (p = 0.015, r2 = 0.44, without Bonferroni correction). A threshold of 65% for cSO2 was able to predict POCD with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 65.0% (p = 0.03, without Bonferroni correction). Conclusions Despite a relevant decrease of cerebral oxygen saturation was avoided in our pilot study during cardiopulmonary bypass, incidence of POCD was comparable to that reported in patients without monitoring. A higher threshold for cSO2 may be needed to reduce the incidence of POCD.</p

Blackbird_Blood_Transcriptome

Multifasta file containing the sequences of the blackbird transcriptome. The assembly was generated de novo using the program Trinity v20140717 (Grabherr et al. 2011) with the default k-mer size of 25 and a minimum contig length of 200 bp. To identify transcripts corresponding to coding genes, the obtained assembly was subjected to sequence similarity searches against a custom database containing the available bird proteins (chicken, duck, flycatcher, turkey and zebra finch; source: Ensembl release 77) and the well-annotated human and mouse protein datasets (Ensembl release 77)